NRC: Nigeria Needs $66bn to deliver modern rail system

The Nigerian Railway Corporation said Nigeria will require $66bn to fully develop and implement rail transport infrastructure across the country. The Managing Director of the NRC, Mr. Fidet Okhiria, also suggested the Federal Government approach rail development as a strategic social investment rather than a profit-driven venture. He spoke on a Channels Television programme recently. According to Okhiria, building a robust rail network will have dual benefits, stimulating economic growth and resolving the nation’s transportation woes. In 2017, the government estimated the cost of building a modern rail system in Nigeria to be $16bn. However, former Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, cited lack of funds as the reason the project stalled. Fast forward to early 2024, current Transportation Minister, Senator Sa’idu Alkali, announced that a staggering $35bn would be needed to establish a comprehensive and functional railway transportation system in the country, highlighting the significant increase in costs over the years. Okhiria, however, argued that although government officials see railway infrastructure as a source of lucrative business, it should rather be seen as a social enterprise. He added, “So you are not developing this means of transportation because you want to make prots in terms of naira, because the profit will come indirectly. If you are able to move goods and make sure that we link Abuja to Lagos, Kano to Lagos where you have the port, the indirect naira may not be earned by the government, but it will flow into the economy and it will develop it and commerce will grow. “But when you now say I want to buy locomotive, when are you going to recover it directly? When are you thinking you will get that money back? It doesn’t work like that. So what should be important is making life comfortable for the people. Anybody who tells you, even in the US, that is the capital of capitalism, that rail is handled by businessmen; government has a vote for those businessmen. Why do you talk about bailout?” Okhiria contended that a rail link between the southern and northern regions of Nigeria is crucial, and expressed his optimism that the government will soon extend the Itakpe route to Kaduna, fostering greater connectivity and development across the country. He emphasised that with adequate funding, Nigerian engineers collaborating with the NRC possess the capability to manufacture locomotives. He noted that General Electric, for example, allocates a research and development budget that rivals Nigeria’s entire annual budget, highlighting the signicant investment required to drive innovation. He added, “How much is the railway budget that you see? The issue is not whether we can. Even the Chinese that are here, when they have issues, they come back to our engineers.” When asked how much it would take to build rail infrastructure in the country, the NRC boss said, “It’s about $66bn to link (Nigeria) as planned in the development plan.” He lamented the frequent vandalism of rail tracks by criminals, stressing that recent train derailments were a direct result of the destructive actions of the hoodlums. Okhiria revealed that enhanced security measures have been implemented since the last train attack, including the installation of CCTV cameras on the locomotives to boost surveillance and prevent future incidents. He further added, “We have to provide additional security to ensure that even when they breach it, by what is placed there abnormally, we have to secure it. And that’s what we are doing all over. But we have provided some little technologies like we have cameras inside the train. “We also need to have cameras outside the train. That is panoramic camera truck that can cover about one kilometre, because for a train driver to stop, he requires about 800 metres.”